F-ing termites or some such

[Valhalla1]

So I waited out a few months for an opening at one of the nicest apartment complexes in this podunk town... I get my spartan belongings in place, set up my workstations...

come home from work, and there to greet me, crawling all over my desk, are like a dozen of these little bitches, scampering hither and thither

after squashing them nicely with my thumb, I remembered when the manager told me they sprayed once a month for pests, I guess now I see why

I'm guessing they are termites, I've honestly never seen them in any place I've lived, but they look like tiny reddish ants basically

and the worst part.. I sat down to make this post, and saw one crawling across my lcd monitor. I tried to flick it off, and... DENIED! the bastard is inside my freaking LCD !! scampering happily around my desktop. I cannot describe the level of hatred I have for this thing... I've never felt this strongly about any living organism on this earth.

:|

 

[Feldenak]

Wow, that's the nicest place?

 

[Azraele]

Do they have wings?

 

[Valhalla1]

one of the nicest I think, this is a small retirement community =/


EDIT

okay, after not finding any more specimens beyond those unrecognizeably crushed, I examined the wall and did not notice any sign of damage. the walls of my girlfriends apartment has termite damage, but I've never seen them.

I believe they may have been just tiny ants, because I do not recall wings, and the retched beast in my monitor has disappeared, no doubt fused to some circuitry

however being ants I believe is worse! now I must defend my very life against hostile invaders, and not just worry about chewy walls

 

[notfred]

Termites are like an inch long and usually have wings, they're not some tiny ant-sized red thing. Termite.

 

[Valhalla1]

Originally posted by: notfred
Termites are like an inch long and usually have wings, they're not some tiny ant-sized red thing. Termite.

well I was thinking they had some with wings and some without, i thought there were designated sex warriors who fly into the air to screw while the others basically just eat

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: Valhalla1

Originally posted by: notfred
Termites are like an inch long and usually have wings, they're not some tiny ant-sized red thing. Termite.

well I was thinking they had some with wings and some without, i thought there were designated sex warriors who fly into the air to screw while the others basically just eat

I dunno, every one I've ever seen has had wings, but I've never actually seen any inside a wall or anything.

 

[brtspears2]

I got those tiny red ants too. Quite crafty they are, as they eat through boxes of rice o roni and attack the powder packet. They make tunnels in the packet too.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: Valhalla1

Originally posted by: notfred
Termites are like an inch long and usually have wings, they're not some tiny ant-sized red thing. Termite.

well I was thinking they had some with wings and some without, i thought there were designated sex warriors who fly into the air to screw while the others basically just eat

I dunno, every one I've ever seen has had wings, but I've never actually seen any inside a wall or anything.

The ones with wings are the reproductives, they fly out to start new colonies. In the colony there are workers, soldiers, queens and kings. The workers and soldiers generally resemble whitish ants, the soldiers having orangish heads with pinchers. The kings look like your pic, but without wings. The queens look like your pic without wings and larger with an elongated abdomen. Obviously there is quite abit of physical difference between the hundreds of species of termites, but those are your general physical characteristics.

Val, if you have any other questions about termites, you can PM me. I worked for the USDA for 4 years researching the little buggers. If you can get pics of any more that show up, I can identify them and tell you what to do about them.